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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rule — government
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. present — there
  9. rule — a law
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. spring — the season
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. present — the time now
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. kid — to tease
  23. spring — of water
  24. present — a gift

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com